Canada's date with electric vehicle destiny looks to be 2012

Plug-in cars have their renewed first date with the American public in the last few months of this year. How they'll be received is still an open question, but if things don't go well, our neighbors to the north will get a chance to improve the relationship in 2012. By then, somewhere between eight and 12 all-electric cars from companies like Nissan, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi will be "widely available" in Canada, says CTV. Regular readers can probably easily name three of those vehicles – the Leaf, the Focus Electric and the i-MiEV – but what is Toyota bringing to the party? CTV says it's "an all-electric commuter car." We currently know it as the FT-EV concept (pictured). Of course, Toyota may not sell the car, but lease it instead.

In any case, electric vehicles are coming to the Great White North. As Toyota Canada's managing director, Stephen Beatty, told attendees at a green vehicle conference in Toronto last week:

[2012] becomes the big moment when you see that transformation in the auto industry in North America and electric comes on big time. It'll be very fascinating to see how the market responds to that.